The Violinist
by theybecameanimagi
Summary: In this modern-day AU, Yuna is a struggling violinist and Tidus is a famous indie singer.


Yuna drew the bow away from the violin. The response of the crowd was not what she'd hoped. No one was wiping tears of emotion from their eyes. No one was losing themselves in the music, swaying back and forth.

Everyone in the small, yet elegant, restaurant simply turned back to their expensive dinner of steak or fish, as though Yuna hadn't been playing her heart out for them. Yuna yet again glanced at the people dinning. What was she doing wrong? Most of those people were middle-aged. Did they think that, at 19, she dressed badly? She glanced down at her long blue skirt and white sweater. No, she dressed rather conservatively, especially compared to some of the youth down here.

She brushed her hair. She was polite to a fault and always did her best to try and make people who talked to her smile.

It wasn't that her music was bad—she even posted videos of her herself playing on youtube to get opinions from people who weren't friends and family. All of her commenters thought she sounded great. One person had even said Yuna's music had made her cry. Was it bad if that made her happy to hear feedback like that? Still, maybe those reviewers were simply exaggerating.

Was it even worth it at this point? She had been working tirelessly for a year to be discovered, and yet her efforts seemed unnoticed, even though she had taken violin lessons since she was a child. It was like she was invisible. And she didn't even want to be famous for the glory or money. If she did, she would have learned a different instrument, maybe joined a rock or pop band. But classical music was her passion. She just wanted her music to touch people. Was it worth all the lonely days, the ungrateful glances? She rubbed her heavy eyelids. It was time to go home, and get some much needed sleep, finally—

"I heard your violin performance—that was amazing!" Yuna turned and saw a blond man standing by her side. Had he been there very long and had she simply been too lost in her thoughts to notice?

What was more surprising than the fact that someone liked her music, was that she recognized the complimenter. It was the star singer and guitarist of the Zanarkand Abes, some kind of Indie group. Yuna wasn't into Indie music; she only knew of the band because it was popular. She had seen his layered blond hair and cheerful smile looking at her in many music advertisements. And she didn't mind—he had a nice face to look at.

Finally, Yuna managed to open her gaping mouth and reply. "I—t-thank you." She inclined her head in a tiny bow. "It's wonderful to have someone enjoy my music." Her mouth flickered into a tiny smile.

"I'm Tidus," he said, offering her a hand, which Yuna took. He scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really know anything about violins, but it sounded really nice." His voice was upbeat and perky, like it was impossible for him to be sad about anything. "What's your name?"

"I'm Yuna." She could feel herself turning red. "If you don't mind if I ask, you're a famous Indie singer, why are you here?" He could eat anywhere, but he was going to eat here? In a restaurant that, while it was aimed for the city's upper-middle class, it certainly wasn't somewhere a famous singer would stop. He should be eating in the nicer part of town.

"I—I—whoa, you knew it was me?" He asked, eyes wide. "I, ah, came to get away for a bit. I don't normally mind the fans—I love 'em!—but tonight I wanted to be alone." His voice seemed to deflate a little in that last sentence.

Yuna wanted to ask what was going on, but that would be rude. But would saying nothing be equally rude?

"I'm sorry something is troubling you," she said. She began to put her violin away. Perhaps she should leave now.

"Hey, Yuna—you have anywhere to be? Let me buy you a drink or something. You can tell me what a talented beautiful girl like you is doing in a place like th-this," the end of this was drawn out as though he had said more than he'd planned. He blushed, which made Yuna blush. She giggled.

"No, I don't!" Yuna said. "I'd love to get to know you better—you could tell me about life as a star." They strode over toward the bar, which was in the corner at the end of the restaurant and currently only occupied by an elderly couple. They picked a seat in tall wooden chairs next to each other. Yuna started scanning the menu, which was mostly composed of fancy wines and expensive beers, while she gathered her courage to ask a question. "What about you? Why is a famous singer like yourself coped up in a place like this, if you don't mind me asking?" Yuna refused to mention that he could afford better. She didn't want to offend him by bringing up money. Yuna was already risking displeasing him by prying into his family life. Still, maybe talking about it would cheer him up?

"Ah," Tidus said. He wasn't able to say more however, because a waitress in a purple uniform walked over and asked them what they wanted. Tidus ordered a beer. Beer tasted bitter to Yuna. She wrinkled her nose. Still, she should probably order something. Having a background in classical music, she was used to wines, so she decided it would probably be better to get one of those. She ordered a glass of chardonnay.

"That'd be because of my old man," Tidus continued once the waitress was gone, "he was a famous rock singer in the eighties, and it's the anniversary of his death."

Yuna gasped. "I'm so sorry!" No wonder he didn't want to be around a ton of people! He must miss his father so much—

"He wasn't much of a father," Tidus shook his head. "But what I hate is… On this day, I can give a thousand performances, and none of them matter because none of those people watching are seeing me… They're looking for my old man."

"That would be a lot to live up too," Yuna said thoughtfully. Their drinks arrived.

"It is," he said bitterly. "Wish I could have gone for a pseudonym, but I was already too famous for being his kid." Tidus gave her a gentle nudge on the arm. "What are you? How come you're stuck here? That was way too moving a performance for me to be your only fan." His voice was gentle, and made her feel like her problems had been snatched away by a warm breeze. She couldn't seem to not laugh.

Yuna took a sip of her wine to give herself some time to think about what she wanted to say. It had an oaky taste to it, with a slight hint of apple. "I've been trying to get discovered for over a year, but it's not easy. I want to touch people with my music, make them forget their troubles, but…" She placed a hand over her chest. "I don't think people care about classical music." She wasn't bitter about it—classic was what she loved. But it was hard, wanting to touch a world with music that didn't seem interested in the medium she was trying to use to move them.

Tidus drummed the table with his fingers for a second. "Heeeey, I think I just figured out why you're not working out here."

"Why?" Yuna asked. She doubted his advice would really help, but it couldn't hurt.

"Well, your music does have a classical tint to it," Tidus said. "But it has those parts that sound really modern and… new. Parts that are fast paced. Like, your music sounds like it could be a violin cover of an Adele song, I guess, at times." Yuna found herself blushing. She always had liked Adele's music. He continued, "maybe you need to play somewhere with a younger crowd." He gestured behind them. "All of those people here, Yuna… They might get kind of into your music, but I bet the reason they don't like it is because it sounds like something a poetic, yet kind of angsty teenager might listen too—not that that's a bad thing. I liked it." He bit his lip. "Playing _here_ of all places, it feels like… False hope."

Yuna's eyes lit up. "You think so?" Maybe was he was right, maybe her music did have a younger tone to it than most classical artists she listened to.

"It couldn't hurt to try," he said with a shrug. "I mean, at the worst, you spend a few months somewhere else, can't be any longer than what you've spent here, right?"

"I think you're right," Yuna said, feeling motivated for the first time in a while.

"I know I am!" He said. "You're going to be awesome, Yuna." He licked his lips. "I just… Ah, well, you, we could, um, do you want to go out on a date or something? I mean, if it sounds crazy we don't have to. I mean, an indie singer and a violinist does seem like an odd combination—"

Yuna wrapped her fingers through his. "I'd love too." She smiled. "I'm sure we can find something to talk about."


End file.
